Horoscope and Hawaii Taper Run Recap

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Don't waste time looking back to uncover your mistakes; instead, look ahead and plan for your future success. Nevertheless, it's not wise to make changes too quickly. Overreacting is even less constructive than doing nothing at all. " ~ My horoscope of the day

I guess I will try to apply this one... I will "waste" time looking back only to capture the good stuff! I will use it as a reminder and part of my plan for my future success!!!

I am slowly increasing the miles and the number of runs per week; I took a break for about a month. At the moment my left IT band is still pretty stiff and weak (inflammation is persistent!) - it had to compensate for my usual weakness on my right foot during the marathon last May. My lower back is also sore, I had a bad fall before the Relay for Life resulting in bruises and locking my lower back... All together, yoga and walking is helping. My mobility is improving. So I am doing some changes... the big change is taking it SLOWLY! It is actually difficult for me not to push it and I have to use some strategies to trick my mind ... my goal at the moment is to do it ... AND fixing the little "injuries"...

First strategy - I am going off the beaten path! Well - way of talking... I am trying some trails on base... and I carry my iPhone...so I allow myself to take a short pause to take a picture if I see something I like. In this type of terrain, I can push it but I cannot sprint it. It is also very peaceful and quiet. This is getting the FUN back into RUNNING... This is my me time and this view has as much value as a great running pace! This is a training run not a race!

Second strategy - Improve the posture... I have a new chair at work and I like it. I don't use the back very often and my feet are grounded...

Third - as in my horoscope ... "Overreacting is even less constructive than doing nothing at all."... Well, I am not going to sweat the fact that I am not doing exactly what is on my training plan, as long as I am moving... Self-compassion is something I need to work on! So today I did not run because I have a stomach bug... (very crampy!)... however I went for a 5k walk at the lake with DH Jeff ... and I took my daughter and her girlfriend for a 3k walk in our neighborhood. It is good to get them out the door and away from her electronics - or her hobbies. I have to admit that she is very creative and artistic; she is very proud of her cosplay - I think she looks cute!

Finally - I am working on positive thinking. So here is a recap of a fun run - 15k around Diamond Head - Hawaii (May 2014).
That was my last "long" run before the marathon, so the intent was not to go fast but just to cover the distance - so I took my camera and I did a tourist run!
I started from the hotel and ran along Waikiki beach... very touristy area, many runners but this is not a very long stretch. About 3k. After that, I made my way onto Kalakaua Ave ... running by the Kapiolani Regional Park. Some historical houses and the shoreline are very picturesque. I proceeded on the right onto Diamond Head Rd...

This portion of the run was not flat... This is a slow climb. I went by the lighthouse and Fort Ruger Park. I stopped at the park and chatted with Johan, a friendly local lady in her late sixties, she was doing her daily walk training for her next marathon. She told me about the Hawaii marathon - she completed it in 6h24 min. I admired that. This is not fast but it takes a lot of commitment and determination to keep going. (after haft that time, I have enough!)

I continued my way around Diamond Head and went down Monsarrat Ave. I turned right onto Paki Ave and reached Ala Wai Canal. That portion is flat and fully exposed to the sun! I think I prefer hills and shade
I took a "short cut" toward the park - Ainahau Triangle and the Fort Debussy Beach Park. The last few meter were back on the beach sidewalk and the finish point was at Hilton Village (our hotel) by the pool! That run made my day!

Hope you did not mind looking back... Warning, more back flashes to come in my next few blogs, I have some catching up to do !

ARUNNINGKAT
Loved reading about your run in Hawaii, it sounds like it was wonderful! Sometimes it is good to take a break from the more intense side of working out and just enjoying being active. I am trying to work more active fun into my schedule in additon to my regular more intense work outs.

SWEETNEEY
It's nice to reminisce. Sometime training for events does relegate taking time to smell the roses to the backseat. I went for a run (real) on Tuesday and I felt 'satisfied'. So, next week I've gotta do it in the morning 3x a week. I have a GF who I go out with on Saturday for 1 hour but she's not a runner or a walker. So the pace we do I don't count as a run. But I thought I'd do this to change up my training (treat this as a recovery day).875 days ago